Garment



June 18, 1929. s. E. SZAKVARY GARMENT Filed April 3, 1928 INVENTOR Jelml'. QFza Zz/uw {er A ORNEY UN ITED STATES Patented June 18, 1929.

SELMA E. SZAKVARY, OF NEW YORK, ,N. Y.

GARMENT.

Application filed April 3, 1928. Serial N0. 266,933.

This invention relates to a garment of the snug-fitting corset type which by reason of its close-fitting conformation closely extends about and shapes the trunk portion of the body accordingly.

Garments of this general character are at the present time so made that their upper end begins either at or above the waist line and their lower end extends downwardly for a considerable distance and terminates below the hips and in some cases extends for some distance on the thighs. Garments of this character, and particularly those of the tubular elastic slip-on type which have no lacing or openings of any kind, havebeen found inconvenient in some particulars and especially so when adjustment or shifting of V the lower portions of the garment is necessitated for the purpose of rendering parts of the body accessible for sanitary purposes.

The object of this invention therefore is to provide a corset-like snug-fitting garment which may or may not as desired, be provided with lacings or other adjustments, and which will by reason of my improved construction be provided with means for permitting immediate accessibility to parts of the body required to be rendered accessible for sanitary purposes. I attain this end without in any way altering the general shape of the garment and without the utilization of any bulky or inconvenient fastening devices or supplemental panels or flaps, which means have undoubtedly been used in the past and which have defeated the purpose of a corset by producing doubled or thickened parts-on the garment thereby destroying the smooth outer conformation and appearance of the corset and such other outer garments as may be L0 worn over it.

Through the use of my improved construction, the garment may be of such length as is required to properly shape the wearersbody without in any way discommoding the L5 wearer; it may also be more readily placed on and removed, and is so designed that it cannot by any possibility cause inconvenience or discomfort while being worn, but will on the other hand afford-the usesand desirabilso ity of the long close-fitting elastic garment sopreferred at the present time without in any way inconveniencing the wearer of such garment.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying 5 drawing, forming a part hereof in which front of the body of the garment disclosed.

and 2 indicates the rear thereof. The garment shown is a snug fitting undergarment of the corset type which is adapted to fit about and embrace the hips and surrounding parts of the body. I The upper edge of the garment shown is indicated at 3 and the lower edge at t. The garment is of such length that the upper edge 3 usually terminates at or slightly above the waist line, the lower edge 4 extending a considerable distance below the hips and in some garments well down on the thighs.

vAt 5 and 6 are shown elastic inserts which permit the garment to be sufficiently expanded, since it 1s of tubular closed form, to be 'fitted on the wearer and. also provide the necessary elasticity to cause the garment to very snugly embrace and compact the wearers form. The front portion of the garment shown at 1 is preferably an insert of inelastic material or fabric and it is provided with a plurality of elongated pockets 7 which are used to enclose suitable stays 8 in the conventional way.

At the back of the garment, I provide a pair of slits 9 which slits begin at the lower edge of the garment and extend upwardly for a relatively short distance, where they terminate. These slits terminate at a considerable distance below the upper edge 2 of the garment and they are preferably located at the longitudinal side edges of the inelastic relnforcing piece 2 found on the back of the garment. The section of the garment located between these slits, which section consists of the lower extremity of the part 2, is formed by reason of the slits, into a raisable flap portion 10 when the slits are opened. Thus, through the medium of the slits 9, I provide such raisable flap portion which can be conveniently and readily lifted to render accessible those parts of the body required for sanitary purposes. 7 I v To close these slits when desired, I pro- F gure 1 is a rear view of a garment made.

.vide releasable fastening means 11, such fastening means beim located in the slits and being in the form of hooks located on one'side of the slit that engage with complementary 5'memberson the opposite edge of the slit.

. By movement of a slide member 12, the fastening members may. be engaged to close the slit or disengaged to open the slit by a re 'verse movement of theslide. It will be noted that the slits are in their open condition when the slides 12 are at the upper end or termination of the slit.

In order' to permit free lifting movement of the flap 10-without interference by the stays 8, it may be desirable to terminate these stays at a point located at or near the upper upper end of the slits 12 as is clearly shown in Figure 1.

To protect the wearers body from contacting with the fastener members 11, I find it desirable to provide the inner face of the garment with a flap member 13 that underlies the slits 9 and consequently the fastener memhers located in said slits. Thelower' end of 5 each of these flaps 13 is provided with a snap fastener member 14that engages with a complementary fastener member 15 located on the inner face of the body of the garment.

From the foregoing, the construction and 3 use of my improved garment will be readily understood. It will be seen that the garment in normal wear is completely closed and pro vides a very smooth and sung fitting construc tion. When for sanitary purposes it is re- 5 quired to raise the flap 10, this can be very quickly and effectively done by moving the two slide members 12 up to the top oftheir respective slits 9 to cause the fastening means to open. The flap may then be raised as re- 4 quired.

- To close the slits 9 and cause the flap portion 10 to again form an integral part of the garment, the slides 12 are moved downwardly to their limit.

5 While I have shown my improved construction applied to a certain typeof completely closed tubular corset-like garment, it will be obvious that this constructlon may well be applied to any type of snug fitting garment of the same general character and is most applicable to that type of garment which extends well down below the hips and which has been found inconvenient for many reasons readily understood;

The type of fastening means which I employ for closing and opening the slits 'may be varied in many ways, provided such type of spaced slits locatedat the op os'ite side edges of one of the inelastic pane s and extending upward for a short distance from the lower edge of the body of the garment, that integral continuous portion located between the slits-forming an inelastic raisable flap when the 'slits are open, fastening means for drawing together the edges of the elastic panels and the edges of the inelastic flap and closing the slits therebetween, said means comprising a plurality of fastener elements located on opposing edges-of the slits and adapted to be interengaged by movement of slides, and protective flaps located within the garment and covering the slits and fastening means, and means for detachably securing said flaps to the garment body.

Signed at the city, county and State of New York, this 31 (la of March, 1928.

ELMA E. SZAKVARY. 

